Literary Blunders: A Chapter in the History of Human Error (Cambridge Library Collection - Literary Studies) - Softcover

Wheatley, Henry Benjamin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1108051995 ISBN 13: 9781108051996

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2012

Synopsis

Delight in other people's errors never dates, and this little book, first published in 1893, is a fount of human folly and a joy to read. Its compiler, Henry Benjamin Wheatley (1838–1917), was a distinguished librarian, bibliographer and scholar, and a prolific author on London history and the history of books. This publication displays his great sense of humour, and his effortless command of far-flung sources in the search for a good joke. Citing examples from historians to misguided schoolboys, as well as from everyday conversation, Wheatley looks at comic misprints, misunderstandings, and garbled English in foreign parts. However, the book also has a more serious contribution to make: the chapter on printed errata makes use of the earliest evidence of proof correction by authors, and the analysis of misprints in early printing shows how many variant readings in the works of Shakespeare came about.

About this title

Book Description

Delight in other people's errors never dates, and this little book from 1893 is a fount of human folly that remains a joy to read. Citing examples from historians, misguided schoolboys and everyday conversation, the librarian and scholar Henry Benjamin Wheatley (1838–1917) looks at comic misprints and linguistic misunderstandings.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1108051995
• ISBN 13: 9781108051996
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 244